Georgia Judge Halts Medical Cannabis Production By Recent Licensees

A judge in Georgia ruled two companies that were recently awarded licenses to produce low-THC medical cannabis in Georgia must halt their production processes, 11Alive reports. The decision comes after attorneys said the process used to award the licenses was flawed, the report says.  

Atlanta attorney Jake Evans said the state “cannot go out and execute on those licenses” until courts look at “issues about the way that process went forward to determine whether it was properly done.” 

The state had received 70 applications to produce medical cannabis and late last month, two applicants, Trulieve Georgia Inc. and Biological Sciences, were awarded licenses. That licensing decision came seven years after Georgia had decriminalized low-THC medical cannabis oils but failed to provide a legal path for producing, distributing, or otherwise accessing the medicine. In 2019, state lawmakers created a medical cannabis licensing structure but after awarding six licenses, complaints calling the system unfair and arbitrary stalled the program from moving forward.

This session, the Legislature ultimately failed to regulate cannabis products, the report notes, and Gov. Brian Kemp (R) set aside $150,000 from the state’s emergency fund to help move the process forward.